全新大学英语father-knows better

This comedy centers around a proud father's attempts to help his children, attempts which somehow or other always end up embarrassing them. For the sake of fun it carries things to extremes, but nearly everyone can recognize something of themselves and their parents in it. 这出喜剧主要写一位为儿女感到自豪的父亲虽做出种种努力帮助子女,不知怎的,其结果却总是令子女尴尬不已。出于搞笑的目的,故事情节作了极度夸张,但几乎人人都能从中看到自己以及父母的影子。 Father Knows Better Marsh Cassady 1 CHARACTERS: FATHER; MOTHER; HEIDI, 14; DIANE, 17; SEAN, 16; RESTAURANT MANAGER, 20s; MRS. HIGGINS. SETTING: Various locations including a fast-food restaurant, the Thompson family dining room, and an office at a high school. AT RISE: As the lights come up, HEIDI enters and crosses Down Right to the edge of the stage. SEAN and DIANE enter and cross Down Left to the edge of the stage. They listen as HEIDI addresses the audience. 老爸英明 马什·卡萨迪 人物:父亲;母亲;海蒂,14岁;黛安,17岁;肖恩,16岁;饭店经理,20多岁;希金斯太太 场景:快餐店,汤普森家餐厅,一所中学的办公室等 幕启:随着灯光亮起,海蒂上,走至舞台右前方。肖恩与黛安上,走至舞台左前方。海蒂对观众说话,两人倾听。 2 HEIDI: My dad's a nice man. Nobody could possibly believe that he isn't. Yet he's...well, he's always doing these stupid things that end up really embarrassing one or more of us kids. One time, see, my brother wanted to buy this guitar. Been saving money for it for a long time. Then he got a job at this fast-food place, OK? Waiting tables. It was Sean's first actual job, and he was real happy about it. He figured in two or three months he'd have enough money to buy exactly the kind of guitar he wanted. Mom and Dad were proud of him, and well, OK, he's my big brother, and he's always pulling these dumb things on me. But, well, I was proud of him too. You know what happened? I hate to tell you because: SEAN, DIANE and HEIDI: (In unison) Father knows better! 海蒂:我老爸是个大好人。没人会相信他不好。可是他……唉,他老是干那些蠢事,弄得我们当儿女的到头来无地自容。瞧,我哥曾一度想买把吉他。他都积攒了好一阵子钱了。后来他在这家快餐店找了份活,不错吧?当服务员。这是肖恩第一次正经打工,他真的挺开心。他算计着,再过两三个月,他就能攒够钱买他想要的那把吉他了。老爸老妈都为他感到骄傲。唔,是啊,他是大哥,老是要捉弄我。不过嘛,我也同样为他感到骄傲。你猜后来怎么了?我都不想说这事,因为: 肖恩、黛安、海蒂:(齐声)老爸英明! 3 (The lights come Up Left on the fast-food restaurant where SEAN works. It consists of a counter and couple of small tables. The MANAGER stands behind the counter. SEAN is busily cleaning the tables when FATHER walks in. ) MANAGER: Good evening, sir. May I help you? FATHER: Good evening. SEAN: (To himself) Oh, no! (He squats behind one of the tables trying to hide from FATHER. ) FATHER: I'm looking for the manager. MANAGER: That would be me, sir. FATHER: I'm Sam Thompson. My son works here. MANAGER: Oh, you're Sean's father. FATHER: Yes. It's his first job, you know. I just wanted to check that he's doing OK. MANAGER: Oh, fine. No problem. (左后方灯光亮起,肖恩打工的快餐店。有柜台和几张小桌子。经理站在柜台后面。父亲进店时,肖恩正忙着擦桌子。) 经理:晚上好,先生,能为您效劳吗? 父亲:晚上好。 肖恩:(自言自语)噢,不!(他在一张桌子后蹲下,欲躲过父亲的视线。) 父亲:我找经理。 经理:我就是,先生。 父亲:我是萨姆·汤普森。我儿子在这儿打工。 经理:哦,您是肖恩的父亲。 父亲:是啊。知道嘛,这是他第一次打工。我只想看看他干得怎么样。 经理:噢,不错。没问 题 快递公司问题件快递公司问题件货款处理关于圆的周长面积重点题型关于解方程组的题及答案关于南海问题 。 4 SEAN: (Spreading his hands, palms up, speaking to himself) What did I do to deserve this? Tell me what? FATHER: Hiring him was a good thing then? MANAGER: Well, yeah, I suppose so. SEAN: (Still to himself) Go home, Dad. Go home. Go home. FATHER: I'm sure he's a good worker but a typical teenager, if you know what I mean. MANAGER: (Losing interest) I wouldn't know. FATHER: He's a good boy. And I assure you that if there are any subjects that need to be addressed, Sean and I will have a man-to-man talk. MANAGER: I don't think that will be necessary... FATHER: Oh, no problem. I'm proud of my son. Very, very proud. And I just wanted you to know that I'll do anything I can to help him through life's dangerous sea. 肖恩:(双手摊开,掌心向上,自言自语)我干了什么了要受这份罪?倒是告诉我啊? 父亲:那么雇用他没错啦? 经理:呃,对,我想是的。 肖恩:(仍然自言自语)回家去,老爸。回家去。回家去。 父亲:我肯定他是一把干活的好手,可他也跟其他孩子一个样,明白我的意思吗? 经理:(不再有兴趣)我怎么知道。 父亲:他是个好孩子。你放心,要是有什么问题需要解决的话,我和肖恩会开诚布公谈一谈的。 经理:我看没必要吧…… 父亲:噢,没事儿。我为我儿子感到骄傲,我为他深感骄傲。我只是想让你知道,我将竭尽全力帮助他驶过人生的惊涛骇浪。 5 SEAN: (Standing up and screaming) Aaaargh! Aaaargh! Aaaaaaargh! FATHER: Son, I didn't know you were here. SEAN: It's where I work, Dad. FATHER: Of course. I mean, I didn't see you. SEAN: I can't imagine why. FATHER: Your manager and I were just having a nice chat. (DIANE enters Down Left just as HEIDI enters Down Right. They look at SEAN and FATHER. ) SEAN, DIANE, HEIDI: (In unison) Father, you know better than that. 肖恩:(站起身,高声喊叫)唉!唉!唉! 父亲:儿子,不知道你在这儿。 肖恩:这是我打工的地方嘛,爸! 父亲:那自然。我是说,刚才没看见你。 肖恩:我真弄不明白。 父亲:经理和我正聊得起劲呢。 (黛安从左前方上,海蒂自右前方上。两人看着肖恩和父亲。) 肖恩、黛安、海蒂:(齐声)老爸,你这是干什么呀。 6 (The lights quickly fade to black and then come up a second or two later. SEAN stands alone at the Down Right edge of the stage. HEIDI and DIANE cross to Down Left edge of the stage. ) SEAN: If that sort of thing happened only once in a while, it wouldn't be so bad. Overall, I wouldn't want to trade my dad for anyone else's. He loves us kids and Mom too. But I think that's sometimes the problem. He wants to do things for us, things he thinks are good. But he needs to give them more thought because: SEAN, HEIDI and DIANE: (In unison) Father knows better! (灯光迅速暗下,片刻之后又亮起。肖恩独自站在舞台右前边。海蒂、黛安走至舞台左前边。) 肖恩:这类事要是偶尔发生一两次,那倒也没什么。总的来说,我是不肯把自己老爸跟别人的老爸换的。他爱我们当子女的,也爱老妈。不过我想,有时问题就出在这儿。他一心想帮助我们,他自以为在为我们做好事呢。可他应该多想想才对,因为:肖恩、海蒂、黛安:(齐声)老爸英明! 7 (The lights fade to black and come up on the Center Stage area where FATHER and the three children are seated around the dining room table. MOTHER enters carrying a dish, which she sets on the table. FATHER quickly rises and pulls out her chair. She sits. The family starts eating dinner. ) FATHER: I have a surprise for you, Diane. DIANE: (Knows it can't be good. ) You have... a surprise? MOTHER: Well, whatever it is, dear, don't keep us in suspense. FATHER: Well, you know, Dan Lucas and I work together? DIANE: Kyle's father? MOTHER: Don't interrupt, dear, your father is trying to tell you something. HEIDI: (Stage whisper to SEAN) Something Diane won't want to know, I'll bet. SEAN: (Whispering to HEIDI) Whatever would make you think that? MOTHER: Sean, dear. Heidi, sweetheart, don't distract your father. SEAN and HEIDI: (Simultaneously) Sorry, Mom. (灯光暗下,旋即又在舞台中央亮起。父亲与三个孩子围坐在餐桌旁。母亲端菜上,把菜放在桌上。父亲迅速起身为她拉出椅子。母亲坐下。全家开始用餐。) 父亲:我要给你一个惊喜,黛安。 黛安:(知道不会有好事)你要给我……一个惊喜? 母亲:哎,是什么事啊,亲爱的,别卖关子了。 父亲:呃,你们知道,丹·卢卡斯和我是同事。 黛安:凯尔的父亲? 母亲:别插嘴,亲爱的,你父亲正有事要跟你们说呢。 海蒂:(与肖恩耳语)我敢肯定准是黛安不要听的事儿。 肖恩:(与海蒂耳语)你怎么会知道? 母亲:肖恩,亲爱的。海蒂,宝贝儿,别打扰你们的父亲。 肖恩、海蒂:(同时地)对不起,妈妈。 8 FATHER: Now then. As I was saying, I know how much you like young Kyle. DIANE: Father! FATHER: It's true, isn't it? Didn't I hear you tell your mother that you wish Kyle would ask you to the senior prom? SEAN: Uh-oh! HEIDI: Oops! MOTHER: Please, children, please. Your father is trying to speak. DIANE: (Through clenched teeth, the words are in a monotone and evenly spaced. ) Yes-I-said-that-why-are-you-asking? FATHER: Well then. DIANE: (Becoming hysterical)"Well then" what?! FATHER: What did I say? Did I say something wrong? HEIDI: (To SEAN) Not yet, he didn't. SEAN: (To HEIDI) But you know it's coming. MOTHER: Children, please. Do give your father the respect he deserves. HEIDI and SEAN: (Rolling their eyes) Yes, Mother. 父亲:好吧。我说了,我知道你挺喜欢小凯尔。 黛安:爸爸! 父亲:是这么回事,对吗?我不是听你跟你妈说,你希望凯尔邀请你在高年级舞会 上跳舞吗? 肖恩:喔! 海蒂:哎哟! 母亲:静一下,孩子们,静一下。你们父亲在说话呢。 黛安:(咬紧牙,一字一顿地)对-我-是-说-过-你-问-这-干-嘛? 父亲:那就算了。 黛安:(歇斯底里地)什么算了? 父亲:我说什么啦?我说错什么了吗? 海蒂:(对肖恩)这会儿还没有,还没说错什么。 肖恩:(对海蒂)等着吧,这就来了。 母亲:静一下,孩子们。对父亲应该尊敬一点。 海蒂、肖恩:(一边转着眼珠)是,妈妈。 9 FATHER: Well, today I saw Dan and asked if he'd like to go to lunch at that French restaurant on Third Street. You know the one, Mother. MOTHER: Well, yes, I believe I do. FATHER: My treat, I told him. And, of course, he was glad to accept. MOTHER: Why wouldn't he be? FATHER: (Somewhat surprised) Well, yes. DIANE: What-has-this-to-do-with me?! MOTHER: Diane, sometimes I just don't understand your behavior. I try my best. DIANE: (Very short with her) I'm sorry. MOTHER: Thank you, Diane. (To FATHER) Please do go on, dear. FATHER: As I said -- HEIDI: We know what you said, Daddy. FATHER: Er...uh, what's that? SEAN: She said,"We know what you said, Daddy." FATHER: Yes, yes, of course. MOTHER: Do get on with it, dear. I've made the most glorious dessert. An old recipe handed down to me by my great Aunt Hilda -- DIANE: Mother, please! MOTHER: Yes, dear? 父亲:嗯,今天我见到丹时,问他想不想去第三街上的那家法国餐馆吃午饭。孩子他妈,你是知道那家餐馆的。 母亲:对,是啊,我知道。 父亲:我请客,我对他说。当然,他挺乐意去了。 母亲:他哪能不乐意呢? 父亲:(略为惊讶地)对,是啊。 黛安:这-跟-我-有-什-么-关-系-呢? 母亲:黛安,你的行为有时我真弄不懂。无论怎样我就是弄不懂。 黛安:(没好气地)那就抱歉了。 母亲:多谢了,黛安。(对父亲)请说下去,亲爱的。 父亲:我说过…… 海蒂:我们知道你说过什么,爸爸。 父亲:嗯……哦,你说什么? 肖恩:她说,“我们知道你说过什么,爸爸。” 父亲:是啊,是啊,当然。 母亲:快说吧,亲爱的。我做了特别好吃的甜点。是我姨祖母希尔达传下来的老 配方 学校职工宿舍分配方案某公司股权分配方案中药治疗痤疮学校教师宿舍分配方案医生绩效二次分配方案 …… 黛安:妈妈,好了! 母亲:怎么啦,宝贝? 10 (DIANE shakes her head and lets her body fall against the back of the chair. ) FATHER: At any rate, Dan's a nice guy. Never knew him well. Found we have a lot of the same interests. Our families, our community, global peace, human welfare. HEIDI: (Mumbling to herself) That narrows it down, all right. SEAN: Father? FATHER: Yes, son? SEAN: I do believe Diane would like to know the surprise. DIANE: (Breathing hard as if exhausted, she turns to SEAN, nodding her head up and down repeatedly.) Thank you, Sean. I owe you one. (黛安摇着头,身体仰靠在椅背上。) 父亲:不管怎么说,丹人不错。过去我跟他不熟。发现我俩还有不少志趣相同之处。家庭,社区,世界和平,人类幸福。 海蒂:(咕哝着自言自语)就要说到正题了。 肖恩:爸爸? 父亲:嗳?儿子? 肖恩:我肯定黛安很想知道是什么惊喜。 黛安:(粗粗地喘气,好像精疲力竭的样子,她转向肖恩,连连点头)多谢了,肖恩。我记着你的情。 11 FATHER: Well, yes. Here it is then. I told Dan of your interest in his son. DIANE: You what? MOTHER: Diane, what has come over you? I just don't understand the younger generation. Why back in my day -- DIANE: Mother, please! MOTHER: What, what? What? HEIDI: Mother, I believe she wants Father to continue. SEAN: (To himself) Get this over with, more likely. DIANE: Daddy, please, tell me. Now. Right away. What did you say, Daddy? Please. Tell me, what did you tell Mr. Lucas? Tell me, please. Please tell me. FATHER: Well, now, isn't this nice. It looks like my little scheme is a success. You're so eager to find out... makes a man feel as if it's all worthwhile. 父亲:啊,对。我就说吧。我告诉丹,你对他儿子很感兴趣。 黛安:你说什么? 母亲:黛安,你怎么啦?我真不明白你们年轻人。唉,在我那个时候…… 黛安:妈,好啦! 母亲:怎么啦,怎么啦?又怎么啦? 海蒂:妈妈,我知道她想听爸爸说完。 肖恩:(自言自语)还不如说是快把这份罪受完算了。 黛安:爸爸,请你告诉我。现在,马上告诉我。你说什么啦,爸爸?求你了,快说,你跟卢卡斯先生说什么啦?请快告诉我。请快说。 父亲:嗨,瞧,太妙了。看来我的小计策成功了。如今你急着想知道……这可让人觉得我做的这一切还真值。 12 HEIDI: (To SEAN) Can you believe this? SEAN: (To HEIDI) Oh, sure. Can't you? FATHER: Yes, well, I told him how much you liked young Kyle, and how you'd been wishing he'd ask you to the prom. DIANE: You didn't! Tell me you didn't! FATHER: Oh, yes. Anything for my children. DIANE: (Swallowing hard) And...and -- MOTHER: Diane, are you all right? DIANE: (She juts out her chin at MOTHER and quickly jerks her head around to face FATHER. ) Well...what did he say?! FATHER: Well, of course, being the sort of man he is -- frank, understanding, he said he'd speak to the young man, insist he give you a call. DIANE: (Angry scream! ) Whaaaaaat! SEAN and HEIDI: (Together) Father, you know better than that. FATHER: I do? Yes, yes, I guess I do. I've...done it again, haven't I? 海蒂:(对肖恩)你能相信吗? 肖恩:(对海蒂)啊,当然。你还不信? 父亲:嗯,对了,我告诉他你是多么喜欢小凯尔,一心希望他邀你在班级舞会上跳舞。 黛安:你没这么说过!告诉我你没这么说过! 父亲:说了,当然说了。只要为了我孩子好嘛。 黛安:(尽力忍住)那……那…… 母亲:黛安,你没事吧? 黛安:(冲着母亲撅起下巴,很快扭头面对父亲)那……他怎么说?! 父亲:嗯,当然啦,以他的为人——坦率,善解人意,他说他会去跟小伙子说的,一定让他给你打电话。 黛安:(愤怒地高喊)什——么! 肖恩、海蒂:(齐声)老爸,你这是干什么呀。 父亲:是吗?对,对,我想是。我又……弄糟了,是吗? 13 (The lights quickly fade to black and then come up a second or two later. DIANE stands alone at the Down Right edge of the stage. HEIDI and SEAN enter Down Left and cross to the edge of the stage. ) DIANE: Can you imagine how humiliated I was? An honor student, class president. And Father was out asking people to have their sons call and ask me to the prom! But that's dear old dad. Actually, he is a dear. He just doesn't stop to think. And it's not just one of us who've felt the heavy hand of interference. Oh, no, all three of us live in constant dread knowing that at any time disaster can strike because: DIANE, HEIDI and SEAN: (Shouting in unison) Father knows better. (灯光迅速暗下,旋即重新亮起。黛安独自站在舞台右前边沿。海蒂、肖恩自左前方上,走至舞台边。) 黛安:你们能想象我觉得自己有多么丢人现眼吗?堂堂的优秀生,班主席。父亲竟然去求别人叫他们的儿子打电话来邀我跳舞!可这就是我那可爱的老爸。他其实挺可爱的。他就是不好好想一想。不止我一个人深受他横加干预之苦。哦,绝非我一个人,我们兄妹三个整天提心吊胆,知道倒霉的事随时可能来临,因为: 黛安、海蒂、肖恩:(齐声)老爸英明! 14 (The lights fade to black and quickly come up again Stage Left where there is an executive-type desk and chair and two other chairs. Behind the desk sits MRS. HIGGINS, in charge of admitting new students to Benjamin Harrison High School. HEIDI and FATHER sit in the other chairs. ) MRS.HIGGINS: So this is our new student, is it? FATHER: That's right. MRS.HIGGINS: What's your name, young lady? HEIDI: HEIDI Thompson. MRS.HIGGINS: I'm sure you'll find the students friendly. And the teachers more than willing to answer questions. FATHER: She is an exceptional young woman, you know. HEIDI: Daddy! (灯光暗下,旋即在舞台左侧重新亮起。舞台左侧摆放着一套办公桌椅和另两张椅子。希金斯太太坐在办公桌旁办理本杰明·哈里森中学新生入学手续。海蒂和父亲坐在另外两张椅子上。) 希金斯太太:你是我们新来的学生,是吗? 父亲:是的。 希金斯太太:你叫什么名字,小姐? 海蒂:海蒂·汤普森。 希金斯太太:我相信你一定会发现这里的同学们都挺友好。这里的老师也都乐意回答问题。 父亲:您知道,她是个出类拔萃的姑娘。 海蒂:爸爸! 15 FATHER: Very, very bright. MRS.HIGGINS: Yes, now if we can get you to fill out -- FATHER: Don't know where she got her brains. Her mother, I suppose. Oh, I was bright enough. But nothing like HEIDI. All her teachers have told Mrs. Thompson -- that's her mother -- and me that she was just about the brightest -- MRS.HIGGINS: (Interrupts as she loses her patience, though trying to be pleasant) As I said, if you have proof of vaccinations -- FATHER: (Interrupts, carrying on with his line of thought) Besides being bright, she's very, very talented. HEIDI: (Twists her hands over and over in front of her chest. ) Please, Daddy, don't do this. FATHER: Well, of course I will, darling. I'm proud of you. Your mother and I are proud of you. (Turns back to MRS. HIGGINS. ) Why just last year, in her last year of junior high school, before we moved, Heidi placed first in the county in the annual spelling bee! Isn't that wonderful? And she plays the piano like an angel. An absolute angel. 父亲:非常非常聪明! 希金斯太太:一定是的,现在你是不是能填一下…… 父亲:不知道她怎么会这么聪明。我想是她母亲的遗传。哦,我也不笨。可没法跟海蒂比。教过她的老师都对汤普森太太,就是她妈,还有我说,她差不多是最聪明的一个…… 希金斯太太:(不耐烦地打断,但口气仍尽量和缓)我刚才说了,如果你有疫苗接种证明…… 父亲:(打断希金斯太太,沿着自己的思路讲下去)她不仅聪明,而且才华出众。 海蒂:(双手置于胸前,搓拧着)行了,爸爸,别说了。 父亲:啊,宝贝儿,我当然要说。我为你感到骄傲。我和你妈都为你感到骄傲。(转回身面向希金斯太太)嗳,就在去年,她初中最后一年,我们还没搬家的时候,海蒂在县里每年一度的拼单词比赛中得了第一名!了不起吧?而且她钢琴也弹得美妙之极。简直就是仙乐。 16 HEIDI: Daddy, please. Please, please. Daddy, I have to go to class. I want to go to class. Please let me go to class. FATHER: See what I mean? Such an eager learner. I can't imagine anyone's being more eager for knowledge than my Heidi. My little girl. MRS.HIGGINS: Yes, well, be that as it may -- HEIDI: Aaargh! Aaaaargh! Aaaargh! (DIANE and SEAN enter Down Right. They look at HEIDI, FATHER, and MRS. HIGGINS. ) HEIDI, DIANE and SEAN: (Shouting in unison) Daddy, you know better than that! FATHER: Er, uh, I do? (Curtain) 海蒂:爸爸,行了。求求你了,求求你了。爸爸,我得上课去了。我要去上课。请让我去上课吧。 父亲:瞧见了没有?一个多么好学的学生。我想不出还有谁比我家海蒂更好学了。我的好姑娘。 希金斯太太:是的,嗯,不过…… 海蒂: 唉!唉!唉! (黛安、肖恩从右前方上。两人望着海蒂、父亲和希金斯太太。) 海蒂、黛安、肖恩:(齐声喊)老爸,你这是干什么呀。 父亲:呃,嗯,是吗? (幕落) Unlike the father in the play which began this unit, here we have a father who is far better at seeing things from his son's point of view. As Merton shows, however, this does not always come easy. 与本单元开始的那场戏里的那位父亲不同,这里我们读到的是一位颇能设身处地为儿子着想的父亲。然而,正如默顿所描述的那样,要做到这点往往并非易事。 WHEN FATHER DOESN'T KNOW BEST Andrew Merton 1 On November 25, 1983, the prizefighter Marvis Frazier, 23 and inexperienced, was knocked out by the heavyweight champion of the world, Larry Holmes, after 2 minutes and 57 seconds of the first round. Holmes pretended to come in with a left punch and Frazier went for it, leaving himself open for a right. Frazier managed to stay on his feet while Holmes rained down 19 blows in a row. Finally, with three seconds left in the round, the referee stopped the fight. At that moment, Marvis Frazier's father and manager, the former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, embraced his son and repeated over and over: "It's all right. It's all right. I love you." 父亲未必英明 安德鲁·默顿 1983年11月25日,年仅23岁、缺乏临场经验的职业拳击手马维斯·弗雷泽在第一回合比赛打到2分57秒时被重量级世界冠军拉里·霍姆斯击倒。霍姆斯出左拳佯攻,弗雷泽防卫时右侧暴露。霍姆斯重拳出击,雨点般地连打19拳,弗雷泽挺着没有倒下。最后,在第一回合只剩三秒钟时,裁判叫停。当时,马维斯·弗雷泽的父亲兼经纪人、前重量级冠军乔·弗雷泽搂抱着儿子一遍遍地说:“没事儿。没事儿。我爱你。” 2 Later, responding to criticism that he had overestimated his son's abilities, Joe Frazier said, "I knew what I was doing." (1)In the face of clear evidence to the contrary, Joe Frazier was unable to give up the notion that Marvis would succeed him as champion, that he would continue to hold the crown through his son. 后来,有人批评他对儿子的实力估计过高,乔·弗雷泽回答说:“我知道自己在做什么。”尽管事实清楚表明并非如此,但乔·弗雷泽还是坚信马维斯能继承他的衣钵成为冠军,他的荣耀能通过儿子继续下去。 3 (2)It is a disturbing business, this drive for immortality, usually much more subtle than thrusting one's son naked into the ring. Often it is simply a matter of expecting the boy to repeat one's own boyhood, step for step. 这种通常比硬把儿子推上拳坛要微妙得多的对不朽的追求是一件让人苦恼的事。这常常不过是在期待孩子亦步亦趋地重复自己的童年。 4 In July 1983, my son Gabriel was 4 and extremely conscious of it. In fact, he defined and justified much of his behavior by his age:" Four-year-olds can put on their own clothes." Or "I can run faster than Mike. That's because I'm 4 and he's only 3." A 4-year-old, I thought, was ready for a major-league baseball game. So on Saturday, July 16, I drove him to Boston to see the Red Sox play the Oakland A's. 1983年7月,我儿子加布里埃尔4岁,并且已经有了强烈的年龄意识。事实上,他的许多行为是以年龄来界定的:“4岁的孩子会自己穿衣服。”或是:“我能比迈克跑得快。因为我4岁了,他才3岁。”当时我想,一个4岁的孩子可以去看全美职业棒球赛了。于是, 7月16日星期六,我开车带他去波士顿看红袜队与奥克兰A队的比赛。 5 It was a clear, hot day -- very hot, in fact, setting a record for Boston on that date at 97 degrees -- but, rare for Boston, it was dry. I had packed a bag with fruit and vegetables. Gabe slept through the entire 90-minute drive to Boston, a good sign, he'd be fresh for the game. Another good sign: I found a free, legal parking space. And as we entered the ball park, Gabe seemed excited. Gravely he accepted my advice to go to the bathroom now, so we would not have to move from our seat during the action. 那是个晴朗、炎热的日子——事实上那一天非常炎热,气温达到97度,创下了波士顿当天的最高纪录——但没有下雨,这在波士顿是极为罕见的。我装了一大袋果蔬。加布在前往波士顿的90分钟的车程里一直在睡觉,这是个好征兆,看球时他就会有精神了。还有一个好征兆:我找到一个合法的免费泊车位。我俩进场时,加布显得兴致勃勃。他郑重其事地接受了我的建议先去厕所方便,这样在球赛当中我们就不必离开座位了。 6 As we walked through the tunnel beneath the stadium, I remembered my own first game, in Yankee Stadium in 1952. As my father and I emerged into the sun, I was overwhelmed by the vast, green outfield. A pitcher named Vic Raschi fired strike after strike, A Yankee named Joe Collins hit a home run and the Yankees won, 3-2. The opponent had been the old Philadelphia Athletics, direct ancestors of the Oakland team. I felt joy and anticipation as Gabe and I now emerged into the sun for his first look at the field. Gabe said nothing, but he must have felt the excitement. 当我们穿过体育场下的通道时,我想起了1952年在扬基体育场自己第一次看球赛的情景。当我和父亲走进阳光下的体育场时,那绿茵茵的巨大外场令我惊喜万分。一位名叫维克·拉希的投球手投出了一个又一个好球,扬基队球员乔·柯林斯击出一个本垒打,最后扬基队以3 :2获胜。对手是历史悠久的费城竞技队,就是奥克兰队的前身。此刻,当我和加布走到阳光下,他第一次见到赛场时,我心中不由充满了喜悦与期待。加布没说话,但他一定也感受到了那份激动。 7 We found our seats, on the right-field side of the park. Good seats, from which we could see every part of the playing field. We were about a half-hour early, and we settled down to watch the end of batting practice. Gabe said he was hungry. I gave him a carrot stick, which he chewed happily. When he finished that, he asked what else I had in the bag. I gave him some grapes, then an apple. Within 15 minutes he had polished off most of the contents of the bag. And then he said:"I think I've had enough baseball. I want to go home now." 我俩找到了座位,在右外场侧面。位置不错,我们能看清场上的每一个部位。我俩提前了半小时入场,坐了下来看差不多就要结束的击球练习。加布说他饿了。我给了他一根胡萝卜条,他开心地啃着。吃完了胡萝卜,他问我袋子里还有什么好吃的。我给了他一些葡萄,接着是一个苹果。在15分钟之内,他把袋子里的大多数食品都一扫而光。随后他说:“我想棒球已经看够了。现在我想回家。” 8 "But the game hasn't started yet," I said."You haven't seen any baseball." “可比赛还没开始呢,”我说,“你一点比赛还没看到呢。” 9 "Yes, I have. And I want to go home." “看到了,我已经看到了。我想回家了。” 10 "That was only batting practice. Don't you want to see the real game?" “那只是击球练习。你不想看正式比赛吗?” 11 "No." “不想看。” 12 I considered staying anyway. It was my day with my son that was being ruined here, wasn't it? 我想怎么着都得呆下去。难道我和儿子的这一天就这么毁了不成? 13 (3)But I knew better. I knew now that if I insisted on staying, it would be his day that would be ruined so Dad could watch a ball game. In a rotten mood, I carried him out of the park on my shoulders just as the Red Sox took the field. 但我还是比较明智,放弃了呆下去的念头,我很明白如果我坚持呆着不走,那他的一天就会因为爸爸想看球赛而过得十分扫兴。我情绪糟透了,让他骑在我的肩上,就在红袜队上场击球时走出了体育场。 14 "Daddy? Can I have an ice-cream?" “爸爸,我想吃冰淇淋,行吗?” 15 Without much grace, I bought him an ice-cream. Then we got in the car, and I drove away from my precious parking space, still in a bad temper. He was well aware that I was upset; I could see the troubled look on his face, a combination of fear and pain. I hated that look. But I could not shake my mood. I was not looking forward to the drive back to New Hampshire. 我不很情愿地给他买了个冰淇淋。我俩上了车,我开车退出那个宝贵的车位,仍然没有好气。他也很明白我不高兴;我能看到他脸上不安的神情,恐惧中夹杂着痛苦。我讨厌那副神情。可我没法摆脱自己恶劣的心境。我一点都不想开车回新罕布什尔去。 16 Then on Storrow Drive, I spotted the Boston Museum of Science, just across the Charles River. Gabe had been there before, and he had loved it, although he still referred to it, quite seriously, as the "Museum of Silence." Still angry, I managed to say," Gabe, would you like to go to the museum?" 随后,在斯托罗街上,我瞥见波士顿科学博物馆,就在查尔斯河对岸。加布以前去过,而且很喜欢那个地方,不过一直到现在他还郑重其事地把它叫做“静默博物馆”。我压着一肚子火,勉强问了一句:“加布,你想不想去博物馆?” 17 "Yeah," he said. “想,”他说。 18 We had the museum nearly to ourselves. As we walked through the wonderfully cool exhibition halls, I acknowledged to myself how much I wanted Gabe to be like me. (4)He was supposed to like the baseball game, not for his sake, but for mine, and I had gotten angry at him when he didn't measure up to my expectations. It was those expectations, and not Gabe's actions, that were out of line. And it was those expectations that had to change. 博物馆里几乎就我们俩。当我俩穿过一个个凉爽舒适的展厅时,我心里不得不承认,自己是多么希望加布能像我一样。他应该为了我,而不是为了他自己喜欢这场棒球赛,当他辜负了我的期望的时候,我便对他生气了。不是加布的行为不当,而是这种期待不近情理。因此,必须改变的是这种期待。 19 I also thought about the competition between us: what had happened at the ball park was, after all, a battle of wills. He had won. He had stood up for what he thought was right. 我还反思了我俩刚才的对峙:球场上所发生的一切,归根到底,是两种意志的对峙。他赢了。他坚持了自己认为是正确的做法。 20 We spent three quick hours at the museum, viewing the life-sized tyrannosaurus rex from different angles, trying out the space capsule, making waves and viewing exhibits on everything imaginable. And I was excited. 我俩在博物馆里浏览,三个小时转眼就过去了,我们从不同的角度观看与实物一样大小的霸王龙,尝试宇航舱,造波浪,观看各种各样想象得出的展品。我也感到兴致勃勃。 21 Son and father, together, had saved the day -- he by holding out for something he enjoyed and I by having the sense, finally, to realize that he was right, and to let go of my dream of how things should be. 儿子和父亲,两个人共同挽救了这一天——他坚持不放弃自己所喜欢的事物,而我,总算明智,最终认识到他是对的,并放弃了自己不切实际的幻想。 22 This time, anyway. 至少这一次是这样的。 23 And then I remembered something else. When my own father took me to Yankee Stadium, I was 6 years old, not 4. 后来我还想起了另一件事。我父亲带我去扬基体育场看棒球的时候,我是6岁,不是4岁。 24 Maybe in a couple of years... 也许再过一两年……